Any model railroaders?

[sullie363]

So years ago I used to be into HO scale trains.  I still have all my stuff, along with a layout that was never finished.  But recently I looked back into it and basically found that everything is much more expensive these days.  A couple years ago I'd expect to pay somewhere around $35 for a new diesel engine from the local hobby shop.  But now the same engine type from the same company (in this case Athearn) could be almost double more.  What, do they have little people running around in them now too?  Just wondering if anyone else is into this hobby and could offer insight.

[bj229r]

NOW ya gotta have a computer to control all the stuff:aok  

I have a Lionel train my late big brother opened under the tree in 1953 ....ya cant do much with it in the way of cool electronics, but we put up crown moulding around the dining room and the put the track on top, and the thing churns around in big circles making racket and belching smoke any time I want it too:)

[james]

I used to build trains and layouts around 9 years ago I was really into it. I since put the old HO and lionels away as it doesn't do any good when you move around alot in the military. I went to a train shop and found the same thing you have as far as prices also. It's that the trains these days sometimes come with remote controls that really bring the scale to the hobby now.
      You can add smoke, sound, and have control over forward and reverse speeds. Alot of the pre-fab buildings they sell also do different things as far as controlling the different lights you might build into your layout. The hobby itself has simply gone beyond a dial controller and a couple of wires to the track from the outlet.
     What is really bad is the layout materials these days. A pack of little fake trees with some white stuff  on them for snow effect is like thirty dollars now. The trains with no extra circuitry are almost rare now though. There's also not alot of people into that hobby as there was 10-11 years ago. Darn shame kids don't have any creative skill anymore outside of how fast they can click the combo to make the special move work on the old xbox hahaha.  

Very good point about the hobby though!

[C(Sea)Bass]

I've been into it my whole life, but im only 19 so I don't rember ever seeing prices for a new Loco that low. I have a pretty good size HO layout in my basement That me and my dad have been building for about 5 years.

I usually expect to pay $90 - $120 for a new Loco, but I have paid way more than that for DCC with Sound Equipped ones. Those range from $150 to upwards of $300.

DCC is the big thing, its basically a small computer chip inside the locomotive that recieves a signal through the track from a throttle. The days of using tranformers to regulate power on the track are gone for me, this allows multple Locos to be run on the same track at different speeds and has all kind of neat tricks.

I can't say much about the scenery aspect as thats my Dad's type of thing,  but I do know that the best way to do scenery is make your own. The biggest piece on my layout is the Mountain my dad made with some spray-on foam and paint 20 years ago for his O gaugue layout.

Yes the hobby is more expensive, but the things you can do know with it are truly only limited by your imagination.

P.S> If you happen to live In New England or are up for a trip, this weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts is one of the biggest train shows around at the Big E. 4 large buildings filled with trains. Its a good place to see whats new with the Hobby.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Never had the HO stuff, my brother and I have a bunch of Lionel 027 stuff, some that is over 50 years old. We have a layout we built with Dad before he got sick that covers 4 4'x8' sheets of plywood. We haven't had it out since before Dad died. I saw some of our pictures a while back. Brought a tear to my eye. The stuff is REAL expensive these days, probably way more than double what any of it was when we last bought stuff 5-6 years ago.

[JB73]

Gunns actually works on real trains IIRC, and I believe he has interest / information on model trains.

he pops on now and again, just don't have any of his mead

[comet61]

I do N scale and O scale. I collect post-war Lionel and rebuild and refurbish transformers on the side.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Originally posted by comet61
I do N scale and O scale. I collect post-war Lionel and rebuild and refurbish transformers on the side.

Got any transformer parts? I have a transformer (made in the fifties) that is missing the handle.

[BlueJ1]

All of train collection is stored away in the basement of my mother's house collecting interest for my retirement.

[sullie363]

Yeah I remember when that DCC stuff was just starting to show up, never got into it though.

[Meatwad]

I loved HO scale, but I dont hame the room for it though right now.

But I still go to train shows and pick up engines, cars, and track cheap when i see something I like.

[rpm]

Dood, did'nt you watch The Sopranos? Stay away from the model trains.

[Airscrew]

Originally posted by BlueJ1
All of train collection is stored away in the basement of my mother's house collecting interest for my retirement.

I did the same Blue, 1977 to 1979 I got hooked on N scale with my mom.  N scale was nice cause you can get more "train" in a smaller space.   Joined the AF in 79 and trains/cars, track, and buildings/scenery all boxed up until the day I would have time to set it all back up again.   28 years later still boxed up...  dont have the space yet...  My brother and I though have recently began discussing starting it up again, he has plenty of room at his house I just have to get all the stuff out of my sister's attic

[indy007]

Originally posted by sullie363
Yeah I remember when that DCC stuff was just starting to show up, never got into it though.

DCC is pretty sweet once you wire it up. Wiring can be somewhat of a pain.. but being able to run up to something ridiculous like 255 trains at once, wireless controllers, pc automation, etc... pretty spiffy. Though with the gear they're making nowadays, even reversing loops are pretty easy to wire up.

[Nilsen]

Have four large boxes of Marklin trains and tracks in the basement at my dads house. Ill prolly sell the lot some day. Was fun when i was a kid, but takes up too much space and isnt fun anymore.